Kerr on Tuesday was asked whether she'd attempt to qualify for this year's men's British Open. Last fall, the Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews, which runs the tournament, decided to let the top five finishers in each LPGA major try to qualify.

"That's not something I'm really interested in," Kerr said at media day for the Michelob Ultra Open, held May 11-14 on Kingsmill's River Course. Though she said she might consider playing in a PGA event to raise money for charity, Kerr has her sights set on LPGA success -- and repeating as Michelob champion.

Kerr, 28, won last year's Michelob by five strokes. This year's field, so far, includes 14 of the world's top 20 golfers. Players consider the tournament the LPGA's fifth major, mainly because its $2.2 million purse is the tour's fourth-highest. Under the tour's new points system this season, the Michelob winner automatically qualifies for the season-ending ADT Championship. Winners of the four official majors and four other tourneys also automatically qualify.

Kerr finished tied for 35th at last week's Kraft Nabisco Championship, her first finish this year outside the top nine. Her highest finish is fourth place at the Safeway International in Superstition Mountain, Ariz.

"One week, it seems that my ball-striking is great and my putting is kind of off," she said. "And another week, it seems like I can make everything but I can't hit the green." She recently started using a putter with which she previously had success. She's tied for 42nd on the tour with 1.8 putts per green.

Kerr also is sixth in the latest world rankings. This is the first year of the rankings, and they've been widely criticized because they require players to compete in a minimum of just 15 events over two years. Strangely enough, that's the number of events Michelle Wie has played during the past two years. Wie -- the 16-year-old phenom who has competed in four PGA events -- is ranked second. She will not play in the Michelob.

Former LPGA commissioner Ty Votaw, who resigned after last season, has said the LPGA wanted a higher minimum. But the Korean and Australian tours play fewer events than the LPGA and pushed for the minimum of 15.

"I think the world ranking system is necessary for women's golf," Kerr said. "I think it's not perfect right now. I don't think it'll ever be perfect. I think it's gonna be a work in progress. ... I think the minimum number of tournaments over two years has to be more than 15, just because no professional golfer plays seven-and-a-half tournaments a year. Twenty or 22 events a year, or 40 to 45 events over two years, is probably what it should be based upon."

Michelob extended its sponsorship of Kingsmill's event through next year, said Tony Ponturo, the tournament's executive chairman and Anheuser-Busch's vice president for global media and sports marketing. Anheuser-Busch has sponsored the tourney since its first year, 2003. ... ESPN2 will televise the tournament from 2-4 p.m. May 12 and 13 and 4-6 p.m. May 14. *